It could be argued that the name "Inglorion", which means "son of Inglor", suggests that he was in fact the son of Finrod Felagund himself, who was at that time still called Inglor. There are, however, strong arguments against it:

It could be argued that the name "Inglorion", which means "son of Inglor", suggests that he was in fact the son of Finrod Felagund himself, who was at that time still called Inglor. There are, however, strong arguments against it:

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* Finrod Felagund had no wife, since he loved [[Amarië]] of the [[Vanyar]], who refused to go with him to the exile.<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]], ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', "[[Of the Noldor in Beleriand]]"</ref>

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* There were only two children — [[Idril]] and [[Orodreth of Nargothrond|Orodreth]] — of "the third generation from [[Finwë]] to go with the exiles".{{fact}}. While on Middle-earth]], Finrod Felagund had no wife since he loved [[Amarië]] of the [[Vanyar]], who refused to go with him to the exile,<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]], ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', "[[Of the Noldor in Beleriand]]"</ref> and did not meet her again until after his reincarnation on [[Valinor]].

* If Gildor were Finrod's son, he would have right to claim High Kingship of the Noldor instead of [[Gil-galad]] after [[Turgon of Gondolin|Turgon's]] death.

* If Gildor were Finrod's son, he would have right to claim High Kingship of the Noldor instead of [[Gil-galad]] after [[Turgon of Gondolin|Turgon's]] death.

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* There were only two children — [[Idril]] and [[Orodreth of Nargothrond|Orodreth]] — of "the third generation from [[Finwë]] to go with the exiles".{{fact}} This means that Finrod could only have a son after he died in [[Middle-earth]], went to the [[Halls of Mandos]] and reincarnated to marry Amarië. Since Gildor mentions he is of the Exiles<ref name="3IC"/> (meaning those who originally followed [[Fëanor]]), it is very unlikely that he was reincarnated Finrod's son born in Valinor and allowed to visit Middle-earth in a later time. Only one "return" to Middle-earth is explicitly mentioned - that of [[Glorfindel]].<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (ed.), ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'', "[[Last Writings]]"</ref>

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* Since Gildor mentions he is of the Exiles<ref name="3IC"/> (meaning those who originally followed [[Fëanor]]), it is very unlikely that he was reincarnated Finrod's son born in Valinor and allowed to visit Middle-earth in a later time. Only one "return" to Middle-earth is explicitly mentioned - that of [[Glorfindel]].<ref>[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]] (ed.), ''[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]'', "[[Last Writings]]"</ref>

Nothing else is known to have befallen him, and two years later, on September 22, T.A. 3021, he met the Hobbits once again. He accompanied a riding of great Lords and Ladies, that planned to sail West on board the White Ship. Whether Gildor joined them is uncertain.[2]

Gildor's Ancestry

Gildor is one of the less prominently featured Elves, yet he seems important enough to raise questions concerning his lineage, or the identity of this character. Gildor calls himself "Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod". He also says: "We are Exiles, and most of our kindred have long departed and we too are only tarrying here a while, ere we return over the Great Sea."[1]

It should be noted that Tolkien initially used names from his (unpublished) The Silmarillion writings rather at random in The Hobbit and the first drafts of the sequel which would become The Lord of the Rings: other examples are the mention of Gondolin and the appearance of Elrond in The Hobbit, which were only later brought into alignment with The Lord of the Rings and the unpublished mythology by a third edition of the book.[3] This therefore is the case of the reference to the name "Finrod".

Son of Finrod?

It could be argued that the name "Inglorion", which means "son of Inglor", suggests that he was in fact the son of Finrod Felagund himself, who was at that time still called Inglor. There are, however, strong arguments against it:

There were only two children — Idril and Orodreth — of "the third generation from Finwë to go with the exiles".[source?]. While on Middle-earth]], Finrod Felagund had no wife since he loved Amarië of the Vanyar, who refused to go with him to the exile,[6] and did not meet her again until after his reincarnation on Valinor.

If Gildor were Finrod's son, he would have right to claim High Kingship of the Noldor instead of Gil-galad after Turgon's death.

Since Gildor mentions he is of the Exiles[1] (meaning those who originally followed Fëanor), it is very unlikely that he was reincarnated Finrod's son born in Valinor and allowed to visit Middle-earth in a later time. Only one "return" to Middle-earth is explicitly mentioned - that of Glorfindel.[7]

Connection to Finarfin

It is also possible that he was a son of a supposed "Inglor" — a character unconnected to Finrod Felagund, however the name Inglor reappeared, in Quenya form, for Finarfin (who in the earlier legendarium, was named Finrod). Finarfin's mother-name was Ingalaurë.[8] If Ingalaurë is to be translated in Sindarin according to the sound-changing rules, this would become Inglor. Thus, the connection of Gildor to the house of Finrod/Finarfin still remains in the updated legendarium.

This all suggests that, while Gildor might have been initially intended to be Felagund's son, in the final version he probably became a member of the House of Finrod as one of its servants, not one of its sons — perhaps one of the knights of Nargothrond.

Portrayal in Adaptations

Gildor is generally left out of adaptations. This may cause some problems when two characters the hobbits meet later - Bombadil and Glorfindel (or his replacement) - are introduced.

A scene that was shot on the third day of principal photography, "The Passing of the Elves", is a reference to this passage in the book. It was eventually cut from the theatrical release to postpone the introduction of Elves to Rivendell.[9] In the scene, Frodo and Sam have a meal when Frodo notices Elves in the distance. No interaction is made, and the Elves travel to the Grey Havens, not from the Emyn Beraid to Rivendell.[10] They overhear the Elves singing a sad song, which is in fact a translation into Sindarin of Tolkien's Elven Hymn to Elbereth.[11] Jackson meant for this scene to invoke the sadness of the Elves leaving Middle-earth.[9]

This video game features both Tom Bombadil and Glorfindel. Tom apparently knows nothing of Frodo carrying the Ring, yet Glorfindel does - he is sent out by Elrond. Elrond had received a message, but from whom this message came is left untold.